Boat Loads of Moderators

[Fizz. 1,078]

"OH boy, I'm a mod? Time to ban people omg! Where all dem bad posts at?"

 

 

Too many mods think like that, and don't realize that they're only there to respond to a report or problem and to delete any bad content they come across, not actively search it out and attack anything that's slightly questionable. Think of yourselves like, say, militia. You're only employed when a problem arises.

 

Still waiting for a mod to delete certain threads, unless people will think that talking about your fetish is okay

 

";_; omg like, someone broke the rules, omg, someone, guys, quick, i'm offended, other people are talking about a subject too mature for me, omg guys, like, omg ;_;"

[Nah 3,182]

The amount of mods is too damn high!

 

 

Just kidding of course, we need these moderators to protect against trolls.

[Whiteshade 1,426]

"OH boy, I'm a mod? Time to ban people omg! Where all dem bad posts at?"

 

 

Too many mods think like that, and don't realize that they're only there to respond to a report or problem and to delete any bad content they come across, not actively search it out and attack anything that's slightly questionable. Think of yourselves like, say, militia. You're only employed when a problem arises.

 

 

 

";_; omg like, someone broke the rules, omg, someone, guys, quick, i'm offended, other people are talking about a subject too mature for me, omg guys, like, omg ;_;"

 

Militia? AK-47s, for EVERYONE!!

out of context quotes aside, I personally have only reported 1 thing in my entire time here... if users are like me the mods pretty much have to seek out posts, because 1 report is not the extent of inappropriate posts

[Fizz. 1,078]

Just kidding of course, we need these moderators to protect against trolls.

 

>trolls

 

A GROUP of trolls can easily be stopped by a single moderator. We don't need 20 guys online at once to constantly be patrolling the place to seek out "trolls".

 

 

Also, troll is a stupid word that's almost always used incorrectly.

 

 

Militia? AK-47s, for EVERYONE!!

out of context quotes aside, I personally have only reported 1 thing in my entire time here... if users are like me the mods pretty much have to seek out posts, because 1 report is not the extent of inappropriate posts

 

I only report someone who is spamming or being an absolute dick, not immature or inappropriate posts. I like to play a game called hide everything from the moderators and hope they never find it.

[NavelColt 22,881]

*Soars right over page rapeage*

 

Welcome to the-oh wait.

 

Congrats semi-gods. Omnipony approves of your forum addiction level or maturity level or some third thing, or all of the above, so have fun, and enjoy your mod-dem. May you fly about with your new shiny armor and ban hammers with glee.

[Whiteshade 1,426]

>trolls

 

A GROUP of trolls can easily be stopped by a single moderator. We don't need 20 guys online at once to constantly be patrolling the place to seek out "trolls".

 

 

Also, troll is a stupid word that's almost always used incorrectly.

 

 

 

 

I only report someone who is spamming or being an absolute dick, not immature or inappropriate posts. I like to play a game called hide everything from the moderators and hope they never find it.

 

Personally I can make inappropriate posts without being an absolute dick. Not that I've ever made an inappropriate post, of course...

[Key Gear 6,663]

18 moderators is way too many.

 

To be fair, the forum is currently growing at a rate of over 700 members per month. Assuming that the rate stays the same, then the forum will double in size by the end of this year. If the rate picks up, then there may be over 10,000 members by the end of this year. To me, it makes sense to allow moderators to have some time to get used to moderating before there is an intense need for moderators.

 

Another thing to keep in mind is that the new moderators are limited to only certain areas. They are not global moderators, so the number of moderators is actually somewhat deceptive.

[Marshmallow 1,137]

Militia? AK-47s, for EVERYONE!!

 

VIVA LA REVOLUCION!!

will this post be deleted, or will it not. Only future will tell.

[Fizz. 1,078]

To be fair, the forum is currently growing at a rate of over 700 members per month. Assuming that the rate stays the same, then the forum will double in size by the end of this year. If the rate picks up, then there may be over 10,000 members by the end of this year. To me, it makes sense to allow moderators to have some time to get used to moderating before there is an intense need for moderators.

 

Another thing to keep in mind is that the new moderators are limited to only certain areas. They are not global moderators, so the number of moderators is actually somewhat deceptive.

 

One thing I don't understand is why we NEED so many. If something is so bad it offends someone, they'll report it. Otherwise, if it goes unchecked, what's the problem? If no one is offended or annoyed, why do you need a huge group of people to actively search it out? Once again, moderators should just be regular users who ban/delete/edit when a report is made or they stumble across something illegal. Hell, we should also have a system similar to another forum I used, where the moderators are completely anonymous and use different accounts to ban/etc. Also, the mods there mainly patrol one section: the report section.

 

This way, a user can continue their forum habits mostly uninterrupted, no one knows who the mods are, and we don't need 10,000 of them.

[Evilshy 5,090]

I do not like this at all.

 

I've never liked overly proactive moderation. The thought of someone lurking a forum, trying to find questionable content so they can zap it seems very 1984 to me. The fact that they can do it while appearing offline makes it worse (Just check the bottom of the page. Who do you think those 3 anonymous users are?).

 

There is also the matter of different people having different opinions on things, leading to inconsistent moderation. For example, the "which came first" thread has been moved, IIRC, 3 times so far, by different mods. Also, some mods undoubtedly have stricter policies on swearing, what constitutes as NSFW, or what is and isn't a quality post. And in my experience on many other forums, it's damn near impossible to get something unmodded. Obviously, talking to the original mod isn't going to help, since they already made up their mind about the moddability of the post when they deleted it, and they won't want to go back on that, for the simple fact that nobody likes being wrong. Sure, you can go to another mod, but they will rarely directly contradict the first mod (to date, I have NEVER seen one mod reverse the decision of another when it comes to post deletion on any forum I've been a part of).

 

Also, the fact that there are more mods means there are more people who might use their power to make things how they want them, and not necessarily what's best for the forum. As people have said, it does seem like their is some favoritism. I've been modded on other forums simply because a mod didn't like me. I don't think that has ever happened to me here, simply because I haven't been modded much, but according to others, it is a problem. However, I do think that there have been plenty of cases where mods acted more out of opinion than enforcing the rules. IMO, Nico did a fair amount of times.

The RP world is a fine example of a mod using their power to make everything go their way. Don't want an OC thread because you'll never use it? Too bad, the mods do. Don't want to use a certain format for the first post because it won't work as well? Too bad, the mods do. Don't want to make a new character sheet for a character you'll only use once, and rarely at that? Too bad, the mods do. Don't want to have to make like 4 goddamn threads and then go back and link them all to each other just to start a small RP that will probably die in a month or two? Too bad, the mods do.

(I know a lot of people like RP world and won't agree with me on this, but whatever.)

 

And while you may say that you aren't feeling a power rush, the simple fact is that humans use power when they have it. Can you honestly say that if you found yourself in a situation you didn't like and had the power to change it, you wouldn't, simply because you might be wrong? Add to that the fact that there is little to no consequence for being wrong (you're a mod, only Feld0 and Sw/Zoop can touch you), and you have a lot of potential for power abuse in the name of making the forum better.

 

And, sadly, I must agree with you who say that there are some staff that I don't think should be staff.

 

 

Honestly, I think a system based almost 100% on reports would be better. Mods wouldn't be able to delete things unless they were reported by a non-mod, which would prevent most power abuse. Also, it would prevent a lot of cases were everybody involved is okay with the subject at hand (for example, the aforementioned sadomasochism thread) and are acting mature about it, but then it is suddenly deleted because some mod wandered in and thought "woah, this is some controversial stuff *delete*". I've had this happen to me several times on various sites, and it is quite frustrating, being punished simply because somebody not involved at all couldn't handle the maturity level.

Edited June 26, 2012 by Evilshy

[Finesthour 7,287]

 

This. EVERY SINGLE BIT OF THIS.

[Lady Rarity Pony 4,892]

To be fair, the forum is currently growing at a rate of over 700 members per month. Assuming that the rate stays the same, then the forum will double in size by the end of this year. If the rate picks up, then there may be over 10,000 members by the end of this year. To me, it makes sense to allow moderators to have some time to get used to moderating before there is an intense need for moderators.

 

Another thing to keep in mind is that the new moderators are limited to only certain areas. They are not global moderators, so the number of moderators is actually somewhat deceptive.

 

It's still too early for such a change. We could gradually adjust with new mods when needed. Not make it rain mods the moment we realize the site is still growing.

 

The fact that they are not global mods doesn't change how unnecessary the sudden increase is.

 

It's not like mods were even carefully selected. Or at least I hope this isn't considered a careful selection of mods.

[Twilight Sparkle ✨ 8,526]

One thing I would like to clarify is that although we now have 19 staff members, this doesn't mean that we have 19 people with full mod power running around all over the site. The 10 new moderators are only section mods, as opposed to global mods, and do not actually wield any authority outside of their designated sections.

 

 

This is how the staff positions now break down:

 

 

 

3 Admins

Admins are there to monitor the other staff and ensure everyone is doing their job properly. Having three of us ensures higher availability throughout the day and means that we can bounce opinions off of each other instead of one guy making all the decisions. They're also the ones who plan and implement new features and additions to the site, keeping it interesting and relevant for everyone.

 

 

6 Super Moderators

Super moderators carry global authority and have the ability to moderate any piece of content in any section of the site. They also have the ability to ban members, issue warnings, and dish out punishments. Having six of them from various timezones (plus three admins) means that we are prepared to deal with a potential troll attack and anything else that requires banning 24/7. The number of global moderators remains unchanged.

 

 

10 Section Moderators

The best analogy for a section moderator that I can think of is a janitor. Section moderators only have basic moderation tools available to them in a few specific sections. If MLP Forums was a school district, we would appoint a few janitors to each school to keep them clean. It's much more practical than giving every janitor the responsibility of keeping every school clean. These moderators have been appointed to sections that they are already active in, mostly for the purpose of increasing the percentage of content that is actually even seen by us. They cannot warn or ban members - if they feel direct action against a user is necessary, they must ask a super mod or admin to do it for them, which greatly limits the extent of both their power and responsibility.

 

 

I hope this clears things up a bit. As Scootacool said, the number of moderators really is a bit deceptive. We haven't allocated as much power as it looks like.

 

---

If you have concerns about any of our selections, please start a personal conversation with the three admins. We'd be happy to listen if you have reasonable grounds to believe someone isn't mod material.

[Victoria and Co. 782]

 

Why do you mock me with 19 staff members? Is one more too much to ask?! /OCD

[NavelColt 22,881]

Hmmm, also, the whole issue with 'people become work-bent douches' after becoming mods is indeed a legitimate thing that I believe admins should always keep an eye out for, and keep any reports and complaints of mods being that way coming in from members in mind. I've seen places come up with new mods that turn into hard-asses who ride on people and piss people off, and the admins treat it like nothing to pass a thought on. The smoothness of member to staff relationship goes down the drain.

 

That said, this is a highly mature community. I expect to see little of that, and if it does, I don't expect it to last very long.

[Doctor XFizzle 8,669]

They cannot warn or ban members - if they feel direct action against a user is necessary, they must ask a super mod or admin to do it for them, which greatly limits the extent of both their power and responsibility.

 

I guess that makes it feel a little better, but I'm still not completely 100% keen on this.

[Yellow Diamond 7,569]

The flurry of activity has certainly caught the attention of a few members. While I may not be able to totally ameliorate your concerns, I do think it is worth keeping in mind this fact: the new moderators have been assigned specific sections over which to watch. We are not global moderators capable of rearranging threads across the forum on a whim. We are here to make life easier for Feld0 and the rest of the higher-ups who are otherwise busy with forum-wide concerns. Therefore, it will be helpful for us if certain concerns are brought to the attention of section moderators overseeing their assigned section rather than immediately treated as a forum-wide matter. I think that makes the most use out of delegation of tasks.

 

(Feld0 just addressed the above point while I was finishing the post.)

 

Why do I make this point? Because it seems to me there is a common mistake of conflating us (the section moderators) with global moderators. Furthermore, some of us are learning the ropes, so mistakes are bound to be made. I'm rather certain the whole staff is open to criticism and suggestions, so long as these suggestions are prospective and constructive rather than an exercise in tearing down moderators who are perceived as failing to perform their duties.

 

With a bit of experience on my side, while I understand the social dilemma of having regular members suddenly become moderators, thus introducing a sense of intimidation, I do not believe anonymity with respect to moderators would be constructive. It is more likely to create confusion and a lack of accountability. Already a number of members are distressed by having their posts deleted or altered without explanation; imagine a similar situation without having any sense of who could be responsible. Such could be construed as surreptitious rather than seeking to relieve social pressure.

 

The bottom line is that save for Mailmare, we are fallible. This is by no means an excuse, so please make it known if you think we have erred. But do not assume we are thoughtless or intentionally cruel; and if you do not specify the problem, then it will be difficult for us to address it.

[Fizz. 1,078]

snip

 

 

ALL OF MY THOUGHTS IN ONE BOX

 

 

Especially the RP world. Ever since the revamp, going into RPs is a turn off. Especially the character sheet. I have NEVER, to this day, used a character more than once. And the character sheet doesn't allow for the flexibility individual RP forms do. What if I want to know more than just their cutiemark and background? It's just stupid.

[Dark Qiviut 22,430]

To echo your point, I miss seeing Zoop and Swoop around here (unless I just don't go into the topics they're in). I miss reading their insights and opinions because I think they're swell fellas. :/

 

I haven't seen them post around much, either, but I think it's mostly because they're busy working, and Feld has been concentrating on both keeping the forum updated and completing his schoolwork (all the while snooping here under an anonymous user ).

 

However, I really don't want mods to stop getting involved in discussions in some portions of the forum and just go there to set members straight. At the Sonic Stadium Message Board, most of the mods became disinterested in Sonic and participated in discussion at only some portions, one of them the Personal Discussion (which is blocked off from public view). For a board discussing mainly Sonic, the mods were mostly inactive there unless it came to discipline. I publicly wrote that as one of the criticisms of the whole staff because I was feeling very disappointed in them, and I considered the forum to be disjointed from this. You can read the whole thing here. Quite frankly, one of the last things this forum wants is to have most of the team participate in only a specific portion of the board and leave the rest to dry.

 

To follow up Evilshy, I think one idea is to have a mod's responsibility to review reported posts only for the purpose of acting as a mediator. When a post is reported, he or she talks to the mod of the section and give feedback. The section mod and report mediator discuss, and maybe a Super Mod can discuss with them, too. After the panel is over, the report reviewer will make a choice whether to remove the post or not. But what if a section mod comes across a post that hasn't been reported, but may or may not violate the guidelines? I think the section mod and the report reviewing mod could talk and decide whether it truly violates the rules or (pushes the boundaries but) doesn't.

Edited June 26, 2012 by Dark Qiviut

[Key Gear 6,663]

Can you honestly say that if you found yourself in a situation you didn't like and had the power to change it, you wouldn't, simply because you might be wrong?

 

Yes. Without going into too much detail, I have a day job that requires me to adhere, strictly, to a rather extensive list of rules. Part of this job involves exercising tremendous restraint. There are actually many activities that require you to not do something that you have the power to do because you may be incorrect.

 

I can understand your concerns regarding the addition of additional moderators. However, you should consider one important point. The same individual that decided to add these additional moderators is the same individual that has created the fantastic experience that the site has to offer. I think that you should give Feld0 some credit.

 

The decisions that have been made thus far have all turned out good in the long run. I think that you'll be surprised how well this decision turns out to be after the dust has settled.

 

One last thing to consider is that having a clear set of rules goes a long way towards limiting the friction between moderators and users. This site has one of the most clear-cut set of rules that I've ever seen on any site. You agree to these rules when you join the site. Recently, changes to these rules were discussed openly and many users took the opportunity to voice their opinions. The site is run in a very open fashion. Trust me, there is no danger of this forum becoming a police state

Edited June 26, 2012 by Scootacool

[Zoop 8,384]

They don't have to all be hidden, because that can open the floodgates to fringe users being like "Woohoo mods are asleep, post NSFW!"

Honestly, if the moderators being invisible might tempt potential trolls to reveal themselves sooner rather than later, I'm okay with that. They'll just be punted off the board sooner.

New Moderators...

My past experience on forums dictates that when people become moderators they exert a lot of.... douchebaggery......

I hope that doesn't happen here.

If it doesn't, then I'm happy that we have more law.

I certainly hope that I don't seem like a douchebag. :

I've seen this too :/

it's all business and no fun anymore with them.

On the other side of the coin, when I became a moderator in many cases it seemed like people were less interested in fun with me.

I'm afraid some of the new mods are going a little for lack of a better phrase "mad with power".

Multiple posts that are a month + old are being deleted, even posts that don't deserve to be deleted.

*sigh* it's all very depressing.

~

Like I said in your status - if you feel that anything has been removed without reason please PM me. I will be happy to review our logs. I can pull up a complete list of all content that has been deleted from the forum, complete with time and date of the deletion, reason it was deleted, and who it was deleted by.

We have tools at our disposal that allow us to review all moderator actions.

I find some in particular have been just as arrogant and obnoxious as they were before becoming mods. No changes here.

If you have complaints about existing moderators please feel free to PM your concerns to Swoop or I. If you have complaints about Swoop or I, please feel free to PM your concerns to Feld0. :/

In every single forum I have been in (About 30 in 8 years) the second new mods are created, they think they have become the pokemon master, and that they must do everything in their power to destroy things against them.

I've had random posts on threads be deleted for reasons I guess for saying "shit", while Chiggens among other users said the exact same thing, but their posts are alive.

I just don't want to see the mod positions here turn into a quest of power for people.

 

This might be a case of a moderator getting a report regarding your post and not checking the thread as a whole for similar posts. Part of the reason we've added so many new moderators is to make us less reliant on reports as a whole, allowing for more consistant moderation.

Wait.. if the mods are becoming like this....

ABANDON FORUM.

Last time that happened, I left the forum for a month to join this forum.

Uh. Most of the new mods haven't even had a chance to do hardly anything yet. :|

Also, I'm not sure if I like this too much. One of mah posts in "MLP taken down to 4th most popular meme" was deleted and I don't know why. I mean, I think it said "The amount of fucks given is like -1 ", but I can't entirely remember. If so, does that mean we have to censor the f-bomb now, because I liked it better when I was able to say it freely (Of course in moderation ).

Shoot me a PM and we can discuss why your post was removed.

18 moderators is way too many.

 

I understand the prior set of mods couldn't cover everything but it seems like too big a jump for a forum that is not currently in need for so many.

 

I'm also shocked (well not really, it's happened before) at some of the people who were selected mods. Some of which, in my opinion, shouldn't be mods.

I think Scootacool covered why we added so many. As for your concerns regarding individual moderators, if you truly have strong concerns regarding moderator choices, please PM an administrator, Feld0 if needed.

So mods,

swearing gets our posts deleted now?

Please give the new folks a break. This is their first day on the job, so it is quite possible that they may make a mistake or two - they are, after all, only human. Any mistakes they make can be reverted if deemed necessary.

I will admit to having reverted a fair number of my own actions. I'm not perfect, either.

I'm not exactly BFFs with the mods and see clear favouritism. ~

Please PM an admin regarding any concerns you have about individual moderators. Go straight to Feld0 if you feel that Swoop and I are not suitable people to discuss the issue with.

Trust me, someone seems to ONLY reporting my posts on pages.

In which case becoming less dependant on reports should be seen as a good thing.

Still waiting for a mod to delete certain threads, unless people will think that talking about your fetish is okay

Context is everything. The user is asking for help. It isn't simply a thread talking about fetishes for the sake of talking about fetishes.

To echo your point, I miss seeing Zoop and Swoop around here (unless I just don't go into the topics they're in). I miss reading their insights and opinions because I think they're swell fellas. :/

I shall now cease to be a grumpy site staffer and speak from the heart. Totes sappy, yo.

I -WANT- to be more active here!

I accepted the role as the first moderator on this community because I bloody floogin' love this place! The fact of the matter though, is that with how much this place has grown, it has been almost impossible for me to have any time to actually enjoy it myself.

There have been many evenings where I've spent the better part of my evenings after work dealing with forum drama, putting out fires, sending out and responding to PMS, so forth and so on. The same goes for all of our other moderators.

The reason we've added so many moderators is so that none of us HAVE to spend all of our forum time on dealing with moderator stuff. By spreading the burden amongst a larger number of users, we can all become more active. That is the main reason that I myself have been pushing for increased staffing here for a fair while.

I want to have time to be a part of this community, and actually ENJOY it again, instead of being a bloody boogieman all of the time.

"OH boy, I'm a mod? Time to ban people omg! Where all dem bad posts at?"

Too many mods think like that, and don't realize that they're only there to respond to a report or problem and to delete any bad content they come across, not actively search it out and attack anything that's slightly questionable. Think of yourselves like, say, militia. You're only employed when a problem arises.

Any mod that thinks like that will be fired.

Sectional moderators were appointed to their sections based on their existing posting history - they don't need to seek anything out, they're moderating areas that they were already actively reading as members.

[Fizz. 1,078]

One thing I would like to clarify is that although we now have 19 staff members, this doesn't mean that we have 19 people with full mod power running around all over the site. The 10 new moderators are only section mods, as opposed to global mods, and do not actually wield any authority outside of their designated sections.

 

 

This is how the staff positions now break down:

 

 

 

3 Admins

Admins are there to monitor the other staff and ensure everyone is doing their job properly. Having three of us ensures higher availability throughout the day and means that we can bounce opinions off of each other instead of one guy making all the decisions. They're also the ones who plan and implement new features and additions to the site, keeping it interesting and relevant for everyone.

 

 

6 Super Moderators

Super moderators carry global authority and have the ability to moderate any piece of content in any section of the site. They also have the ability to ban members, issue warnings, and dish out punishments. Having six of them from various timezones (plus three admins) means that we are prepared to deal with a potential troll attack and anything else that requires banning 24/7. The number of global moderators remains unchanged.

 

 

10 Section Moderators

The best analogy for a section moderator that I can think of is a janitor. Section moderators only have basic moderation tools available to them in a few specific sections. If MLP Forums was a school district, we would appoint a few janitors to each school to keep them clean. It's much more practical than giving every janitor the responsibility of keeping every school clean. These moderators have been appointed to sections that they are already active in, mostly for the purpose of increasing the percentage of content that is actually even seen by us. They cannot warn or ban members - if they feel direct action against a user is necessary, they must ask a super mod or admin to do it for them, which greatly limits the extent of both their power and responsibility.

 

 

I hope this clears things up a bit. As Scootacool said, the number of moderators really is a bit deceptive. We haven't allocated as much power as it looks like.

 

---

If you have concerns about any of our selections, please start a personal conversation with the three admins. We'd be happy to listen if you have reasonable grounds to believe someone isn't mod material.

 

 

In this sense, why do we need moderators other than to have some users strut around like pigeons, acting superior? And yes, it happens, and no, this forum is not a magic-nothing-bad-happens-we're-different forum. It's the exact same as others, except with ponies. People are just as cruel and rude.

 

So if the mods can't do anything other than, ahem, delete posts....is there a need to assign sections moderators? What's the harm in simply letting three or four mods with full powers stroll around in a report section on their free time and sweep up? I'll be more than happy to report simple "lol"s and emoticon posts, and if something is offensive enough to be bannable, someone is going to report it, and if they don't, it doesn't need to be deleted. We don't need a huge group of "janitors", especially since most of them will get a power high and delete anything close to being illegal, even if it is only borderline.

 

It's easy. Employ about 5~ moderators, preferably in different timezones, and let them lose in a report section. This way, less deleted nonsense, less power highs, same security with less staff and thus less potential for corruption.

 

Small government works best online, so to speak xD

[Evilshy 5,090]

3 Admins

Admins are there to monitor the other staff and ensure everyone is doing their job properly. Having three of us ensures higher availability throughout the day and means that we can bounce opinions off of each other instead of one guy making all the decisions. They're also the ones who plan and implement new features and additions to the site, keeping it interesting and relevant for everyone.

This is totally fine. Multiple admins is a good idea.

 

 

6 Super Moderators

Super moderators carry global authority and have the ability to moderate any piece of content in any section of the site. They also have the ability to ban members, issue warnings, and dish out punishments. Having six of them from various timezones (plus three admins) means that we are prepared to deal with a potential troll attack and anything else that requires banning 24/7. The number of global moderators remains unchanged.

I am also fine with this. This is what we had before, was it not? Now, I don't think the potential of a troll attack is justification enough for a large number of mods, the fact that they are mainly reactive mods is a good thing.

 

 

10 Section Moderators

The best analogy for a section moderator that I can think of is a janitor. Section moderators only have basic moderation tools available to them in a few specific sections. If MLP Forums was a school district, we would appoint a few janitors to each school to keep them clean. It's much more practical than giving every janitor the responsibility of keeping every school clean. These moderators have been appointed to sections that they are already active in, mostly for the purpose of increasing the percentage of content that is actually even seen by us. They cannot warn or ban members - if they feel direct action against a user is necessary, they must ask a super mod or admin to do it for them, which greatly limits the extent of both their power and responsibility.

That is very little restriction on power, IMO. Does it matter that they are section mods? First of all, they are proactive, meaning we have 2 or 3 people for each section, whose only job is to lurk and look for questionable content and delete it. As I said in my previous post, I highly doubt they will all do so without letting their own opinions of what's good and what's bad in the way. Also, being proactive will undoubtedly lead them into threads that were perfectly fine despite having controversial subjects being discussed. Also, I don't think being banned or warned is big concern for most of us. We just want to be able to post without somebody with a differing opinion and a little more power deciding our thoughts are inappropriate for the forum.

 

 

To address the subject of the section mods picking up things that didn't get reported... Did you ever think that maybe there was a reason it wasn't reported? Maybe it was because everybody involved in the conversation was completely un-offended and totally okay with it. If somebody isn't, then they can report it.

Edited June 26, 2012 by Evilshy

[MrL0LZ 866]

I certainly hope that I don't seem like a douchebag. :

 

Well, from what I've seen, you're not.

[Fizz. 1,078]

With a bit of experience on my side, while I understand the social dilemma of having regular members suddenly become moderators, thus introducing a sense of intimidation, I do not believe anonymity with respect to moderators would be constructive. It is more likely to create confusion and a lack of accountability. Already a number of members are distressed by having their posts deleted or altered without explanation; imagine a similar situation without having any sense of who could be responsible. Such could be construed as surreptitious rather than seeking to relieve social pressure.

 

Not pure anonymity, only anonymity in the sense you have extra "mod" accounts. This way, if a user needs to be stripped of powers, he isn't publicly shamed. And moreso, this will let the moderators feel more comfortable and accepted in the community, because lets be honest, when I see Swoop or Zoop strolling around, I don't exactly act normal.